August10th,2016

The plan was simple: A cherry picker would set up at the far end of main street, where the L&N Railroad line crossed Kingston Springs' main thoroughfare. The cameraman would be hoisted by the cherry picker, rented from a Nashville tree service, thirty feet above the street. From the other end of the street, the citizens of Kingston Springs would march behind Vince, armed with his guitar, while they all sang in unison to the chorus of God Save Kingston Springs..."Detroit is damned, Chicago's gone,…

July27th,2016

Kris Kristofferson's triumphant return to the Newport Folk Festival last weekend inspired us to share this recently discovered photo from Melva's archive. Kris and Vince hitchhiked together to Newport in '69 at the invitation of Johnny Cash. Cash had recently recorded Vince's song 'Wrinkled Crinkled Wadded Dollar Bill", and famously asked Kris to play a few tunes during his set that year.

May1st,2016

When an order came through last year from a Melva Clarida, we were cautiously optimistic that it was THE Melva we'd been looking for since our Kingston Springs Suite journey began over a decade ago. Turns out it was, and getting to know Melva has been one of the absolute highlights of the experience. Besides regaling us with stories about Vince and their adventures with all kinds of folks (from Kris, Shel, and Cash; to Nelson Algren, Lanford Wilson, and Howlin Wolf), Melva also lent us a bin stuffed with tapes, slides, and amazing photos. We've been furiously digitizing everything, and an early favorite is this never before seen shot of Vince,…